Barton: How to fight City Hall

Maybe then the mayor and City Council would have been sympathetic toward her claim against the city and written her a nice check several years ago.

A "sorry" would have been proper, too. But Garris isn't an elected official.

Instead, she's an 81-year-old retiree who lived alone in a small, dusty trailer park on Ogeechee Road near the I-516 interchange. She lived there quietly and independently. She even did her own grocery shopping, walking across the road to the supermarket (formerly Kroger, now Red and White) at least twice a week to buy food and other necessities.

But not anymore. She lives elsewhere now. She also needs a walker to get around.

A crushed leg will do that to an elderly person.

Five years ago, according to Savannah attorney Bart Turner, Garris was walking across Ogeechee when a city employee who was driving a take-home city vehicle slammed into her. The driver worked at the police department, Turner said.

"The officer who took the report wrote her up for not crossing at a crosswalk," Turner said. "But the nearest crosswalk was a mile and half away." He also said Garris was two-thirds of the way across the road when the employee hit her, which the attorney said means that she had the right-of-way as a pedestrian under Georgia law. Thus, the city employee was at clearly fault, Turner said.

But what wasn't clear - at least not until last week - was whether the city would pick up the portion of the injured woman's medical bills that Medicare wouldn't cover.

It wasn't cheap. Garris was in the hospital for 31 days. Physicians used 18 screws and three pins to repair her damaged leg. But the city rejected Garris' claim, Turner said.

And not just once. Twice.

According to Turner, Garris sued the city as her only recourse. During the trial, he said, the city denied liability. Why? Because the city employee wasn't driving the city vehicle on city business at the time he hit Garris.

In other words, this accident was on the driver. Alone. So if you want money, go after him, not the city.

That's an eye-popping legal position, especially since the city has 447 vehicles assigned for take home use. Do employees who enjoy this privilege know what liabilities they assume? I'm guessing they don't. But even if I'm wrong, a State Court jury didn't buy the loony logic.

In Judge Hermann Coolidge's court last week, a jury ordered the city to cough up $276,000 to compensate Garris. Turner said jurors thought the city was dragging its feet in helping her - as opposed to, say, a city alderman

Accidents happen. That's why people buy insurance.

Except for City Alderman Mary Osborne. She apparently didn't have flood insurance on her home in Baldwin Park, even though she lived in an area known for poor drainage and flooding. Yet she didn't take a hit when her house suffered major damage during a recent wet spell.

Instead, she filed a claim against the city. She did it after the deadline for such demands had passed. She also didn't hire a lawyer like Garris did. Yet faster than you can say quid pro quo, Osborne gets a check for $50,373.

It's amazing how that worked.But in Garris' case, she's not shuffling to the bank just yet. She hasn't seen a dime - and may not anytime soon. The city could appeal, which will keep the clock running.

Thus all Garris really has so far is a serious hitch in her getalong. So the lesson here is simple: You can fight City Hall. And even win.

But it helps to be part of the group that writes the checks if you want to collect.

Tom Barton is the editorial page editor of the Savannah Morning News and blogs on savannahnow.com.